The Big Day

Today's the day- the culmination of weeks of hard work and building partnerships. I admit I had mixed feelings the morning we turned up at the Hospice. Instead of the usual prep for a workshop, we progressed from the moment we were sufficiently assembled, making trips from Zoe's car to the pavilion. First off, I was astonished at the volume of equipment we managed to cram into such a small vehicle... but then it was the fact that all this material emanating from the car consisted of things we had made. I was aware of the individual elements we had succeeded in constructing, but seeing it all come together coherently was amazing. The sun was once again beating down on us whilst we watched the garden space transform with every table we installed and the bunting being put up. There was a clear sense of camaraderie felt with every staple and frantic application of blu tack. How satisfying.

That being said, my mind began to race as visitors slowly filtered in. Some were unfamiliar, but the elation evident in the patients rolling in helped alleviate my anxiety. As the day went on, I settled into more. I took a step back, just to observe now I was done busying myself amongst stalls. The facial expressions of those watching the projections on our dolls were even more animated than our flash videos. Perhaps not superficially so, but those miniscule changes in their visage let me know that they were indeed responding to every word. Further intriguing was the depth of conversation some of the patients initiated with our inanimate, but evidently inviting plush dolls.

The quilt was breathtakingly beautiful; it was an accomplishment fully put down to Izzy's expertise and diligence. I couldn't help but feel; guilty when I heard how she worked into the night to complete it. But every stitch was a labour of love and I think the finished product was all the better for it.

Amidst the cakes and cordial, the sunshine and the smiles of the patients, I think we all quietly found the closure to the project. Though it was planned, there was no big speech, no fanfare to announce the end of our collaboration. There was no need. The wave of happiness that washed over that place gave us our wordless leave. Something in our heads told us 'Well done. We made it.'

'Thank you'

Celebration Day

I was so excited about this day and as it neared I didn’t know what to expect and if it would go well. The sun was shining when we arrived and we began to start setting up outside with tables and work that we had made throughout the project. The cross stitch packs looked so amazing and the mood board I had made full of the photos of everyone was so nice to look at when entering the pavilion. Then we began to lay out the dolls and get the laptops ready, everyone was helping each other. Once they were set up, we turned on the video and projected it onto the faces of the dolls. I have never been so moved by anything in my life when I watched the videos. The animations looked lovely, and on a whole the instillation was wonderful.

People started to arrive and created the buzz we wanted. Everyone was chatting and making new friends and it felt like such a nice atmosphere. When Jimmy arrived I was so thrilled by the look on his face when I introduced him to my doll. When we first met, craft wasn’t his thing, but on Celebration Day he told me that I had got him into it. The quilt had been completed and was hanging at the back on the room. Instead of a guest book we decided that people would sign the quilt talking about their experiences and how it had been for them. One signing was really moving which said ‘In memory of Nancy. Who was a lovely friend and loved every minute of your workshops’ which made me really happy.

Although it was a really beautiful day, there were some things that made me realise where we were. A family were outside with a young man in a hospital bed, although they were beyond upset it made me smile to think our instillation brought a tiny bit of happiness to them on that day.

Overall, I will always remember this day and project for the rest of my life. I have got so much from the project if it be experience, confidence in craft and most of all amazing friendships with all ages.

Celebration!

Our final day at St Christopher’s was so amazing, a memory that I will cherish forever.
It started off with a bit of a hectic rush; getting everything ready, but as soon as the patients and our guests started to arrive the pavilion began to fill with happiness and enjoyment. It was so amazing to see what we had been planning really happening and how well the idea behind this project had worked. All of the patients were really excited to see their doll and to see what everyone else’s doll looked like. It was great to hear how much they liked the final result, especially as some of them were a bit sceptical in the beginning.
This project was something that greatly affected me, especially as it coincided with something that was happening in my own life as well. It was such a privilege to have gotten to experience this and see what a wonderfully joyful, welcoming and beautiful place a hospice can be. Whilst in the celebration day a friend of one of the patients I had been working with came along to see the doll of her friend who had sadly passed away. Something that greatly touched me was when she asked if she could perhaps take the doll of the patient; Nancy, to be given to Nancy’s granddaughter. I felt this to be such a compliment on the doll that she felt it was good enough that it could be given to her granddaughter who she told me was very close to her Nan.
At the celebration day I also came across a patient that I had never met before; Rose. She told me that she was a bit of an expert at making plush dolls herself; even creating some that were sold in funding for cystic fibrosis and raised £400 each! She told me that she also had some other plush toys that she had made recently and took me to see them so that I could get a private view of her newest work. They were amazing!

As a part of the celebration day one of the students on our group made a beautiful quilt to be given to the hospice as a gift from the Brit School. The quilt had individual squares, some filled with the artwork created by the patients others left plain for people to write comments on regarding the celebration day, all of the comments were really beautiful but there was one that touched me most of all; a commnt written by Nancy's friend Sheila.

The St.Christopher's Finale!

It must be said that the celebration day at St. Christopher's could not have gone any better! It was a beautiful and everyone was in such good spirits. Everything was set up and ready and it all looked so fantastic! You could see all the hard work that had been put into this project. The plushies looked amazing and fitted so well with the videos of those we had be working with. The animations in the videos were just the cherry on top of the cake!
It was lovely seeing everyone from St. Christopher's come and see the work as well as seeing others come to the show and support the work we had been doing over the past few weeks.
I am a little sad now that it's all over with, as I enjoyed the project to much! I truly has been an inspirational set of weeks.

Our last Day went really well. We set up quickly with no problems. After setting up I went and sat on a bench and saw there was a patient in their bed outside with their family. I didn’t see who the patient was but I guessed old. Some women in her late 20’s was with them and kissed the patient on the cheek but continuously doing it and then burst into tears. I walked over to be slightly noisy and realized that the patient was only in his late 20’s or so as well. All the time being at the hospice and nothing really hit me, but seeing that did. I felt pretty bad having a celebration day while his family where probably spending the last couple days with him.

Celebration day went well and I reckon all the patients and their family really enjoyed the final outcome and the fact that it was a little different to all the other stuff they had done. I went round listening to all the others and kinda realized that everyone’s video kind of seemed maybe a little bit more opened. I also notice people seemed more closer to there patients and I reckon I was avoiding having some heart to heart conversation, by joking around and stuff and I kind of regret that although I did enjoy joking around and I did hear some good stories. The day was good and won’t be forgotten for a long time!

What an amazing day!!!

Just a quick note to say a huge well done to all the students involved in this project. You worked extremly hard and have faced some very difficult times but your drive to succeed in your goal has been inspirational and i am so proud of you. Thank you so much to all of of the people we worked with at St Christopher's, it really was a pleasure to meet each one of you and hear your stories and share these experiences, we will always remember you. Another big thanks to Marion, Andy and Nigel and the rest of the staff at St Chrsitopher's Hopspice for all your support and for welcoming us back again this year, we hope you like the quilt...

Our Celebration Day

I am pretty certain that today made me one of the luckiest boys to pass through BRIT. I have done paintings and drawings for friends and members of the public before, so I can say that I have worked within the community before. But out of everything I have ever done with the community, I can safely say, today beats everything else hands down. This project as a whole has been my favourite project so far at the BRIT school.

For the people reading this that weren't there today, let me sum up the celebration day:

• sunshine - check
• a real buzz from everyone - check
• smiles - check
• tears - check
• technology working properly with no faults - check

Today was perfect and I wouldn't change anything if I could. I wrote something that Zoe asked me to read out today, that due to everyone enjoying the show so much, never got a chance to be read out. So ill write it here.

"This project has been one of many highs and lows for myself. From the beginning, I was terrified of the very idea of this project. However, after meeting the patients we would be working with, I soon realised that my fears were completely unjustified. What I expected to be a room full of old people set in their ways, turned out to be a room full of fresh, exciting characters that were all unique in their own way. Whether it was the two old guys in wheel chairs having a back and forth going on throughout the whole lesson, or it was the quite lady with a passion for Elvis staying past the allocated workshop time just so she could finish doing some sewing. Everybody i have met on this project, and i really do mean everyone, has touched my life in some way or another. Moreover, this project didn't reach my expectations at all, It surpassed them in every way it could."

Ill miss everyone at St. Christopher's Hospice.

This project changed the way ill look at community art forever.

St Christopher's Celebration Day

I don't think that this day could have been any better. Everything went to plan. The sun was shining, the atmosphere was lively and the Celebration day was a fantastic end to an even better project. As we set up for the show I was a bit confused about how it was going to all turn out, but when everything was finished and ready to be viewed, it was so effective and a really fun way to display the plush dolls that we spent so much time on with the patients. They all seemed really impressed with our work, congratulating us on our achievements and our dedication which was lovely to hear.

We also had, in conjunction with the plush dolls, music was playing, sketchbooks were on show alongside our work that was building up to this event such as mood boards, proposal ideas etc.

Issi had made a fantastic quilt for the event which was stunning. The centre patch was beautifully stitched and it was a pleasure to see. It really brought something to the day where patients, carers, pupils and visitors could write a message on a blank calico patch, by the end of the day the quilt was bursting with beautiful messages.

The project as a whole has been emotional but amazing and a fantastic experiance that I will treasure. It's quite hard to come to terms with how lucky I am to have been given the chance to be a part of this project. A massive thanks has to be given to Zoe for leading the project and being a very motivational tutor and every member of staff at St Christopher's Hospice their dedication and love for the patients is amazing and something that I can't respect more. I also think all of us, the students, have created something that means so much to these people, I am so proud of myself and everyone else, for doing this, being part of something so incredible.

It has been a roller coaster of emotions, we have all learnt, and realised things we didn't think about before, how ever small that may be. From the first time we started to now, we have grown in confidence with the patients and become a closer unit.

I was also so pleased and happy to see George at the Celebration day. He saw his final doll and video and I watched him laugh and smile, he was very grateful and thanked me for working with him which was so touching. Eileen came over to me and Issi to thanking us for our chat we had with her which was so lovely. Knowing that we have made such an impact on some of the patients was actually quite overwhelming but at the same time such a happy experience.

This project for me has been a very touching experience, working with patients that are unwell, its still hard to think about. I really respect all the people at the Hospice, the hard work everyone puts in and what they do for the patients lives.

This final blog, and all the previous ones of mine, wont ever really be able to sum up my experience as it was too amazing to put into words.

Thank you.

Celebration Day

The Celebration Day today was really, really wonderful. As the culmination of this project, I don’t think it could have gone much better. The dolls all looked great set up with the projections; I wasn’t sure until everything was in place how they would look, but it was such an effective way to display the dolls and I think the patients at St. Christopher’s were happy too. We displayed work made throughout the project as well, and the total effect of the dolls and preparatory work together combined to express something really positive and exciting. I had also made a quilt to commemorate the occasion, with some patterned and some calico patches, and we put fabric pens by it so it could act instead of a comments book – by the end of the morning the calico patches were full of the most lovely comments, from students, patients and visitors. I was really happy that we had chosen to make an alternative to a conventional comments book (although I felt my quilting skills left something to be desired!) because the format far better reflected the project. Also, we donated the quilt to St. Christopher’s Hospice, so they can display it if they wish.

Looking back on the project, I feel incredibly proud of all of us; I think we have accomplished something that, as a group, we should all take pride in, and that we have all been changed in some way for the better by being a part of St. Christopher’s for a few weeks. The project has, at times, drawn on some powerful emotions, but I think that that has only added to the value of what we’ve achieved, and the things we have learnt from this project. When I think back on how nervous we were the first time we visited the hospice, and the first time we held a workshop there, compared with the confidence of the work we showed this morning, and how we have each formed a relationship with the group we’ve been working with, I can’t believe it’s only been five weeks. I definitely can’t believe that it’s over. I know that everyone in the group is sad for the project to be over. When I found out that I was going to be working on the St. Christopher’s project – I suppose nearly two months ago – I was really excited. As Eileen and I hugged and said our goodbyes, and she thanked me for what I’d done, for having sat and just chatted to her with Ashra for a morning, I felt overwhelmed. With happiness, with sadness, with any number of feelings. What we have done at the hospice has true meaning and value, of this I am sure.

Final Workshop

The Last Workshop

Our last workshop I was quite upset as George and Rowland were not present and I was really hoping to be able to show them their plush dolls but I suppose, it will just be a greater surprise when it comes to Celebration Day when they see them in all their glory! It was still very sad that I was not able to converse more with George or Rowland but I will make up for this when it comes to the Celebration Day.
We have all come a long way throughout this project, learning from each other, sharing stories, having group discussions that really brought to surface a lot of emotions and many other experiences.
When it comes to the Celebration Day I think it is going to be an emotional affair, but at the same time really amazing and I cant wait to be a part of this finale.

Ron and I

Our last workshop at St. Christopher’s went well. Ron and I spoke more than we worked, which we seemed to do in all the workshops. We didn’t seem to talk about anything interesting but was just making jokes together and persuading him to come next week for the celebration day. Ron left quite early so me and Dee got talking to one of the carers, which we both found interesting, finding out why she does it and a different side to what happens in the hospice and their view on the patients and their family.

My final workshop

To be honest, completely honest, I'm writing this upset. Its only just hit me that next week we will be holding the final celebration day and that will be the last time we are at St. Christopher's with our group of patients.

From day one till today, we have all experienced a massive spectrum of emotions, from sad and frustrated to happy and excited and today was no different. We met with the patients we had been working with to start putting the finishing touches on our dolls, these were things such as; buttons, pockets, embellishment's.

Today's workshop was really interesting for me, mainly due to Carlton. Today we sat and talked about Jamaica and how his church, the Jehovah's Witness's operate. I learnt so much i probably never would have if it wasn't for Carlton, and i made sure to thank him at the end of the workshop for sharing more of his world knowledge and opinions with me.

We shook hands and parted ways and i caught the bus home confused. I was looking forward to the celebration day next week but at the same time i was also slightly upset about it being the last time i get to hang out and shoot the breeze with Carlton..

Nearing The End...

After last week, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. The sun was shining as the group came in to begin the workshops we had organized for our last time at St Christopher’s hospice. I was excited to show Jimmy my progress with his plush doll. He liked it a lot and said it was very smart, which was the look I was going for. We didn’t do much craft work as he had to leave early and it was out last time one on one, so we spoke until he had to leave. He unravelled more about his life and I got to know him that little bit more. When he had to leave I continued to add finishing touches to the doll, he requested a handkerchief, which I made, and for his creeper brogues to be filled which are now completed. I am thrilled with the outcome and it makes me smile to know that I have made it with Jimmy and his input. I am looking forward to next week but as the celebration day nears, I’m finding it upsetting. I have tried to hold back the sadness I feel when I think of leaving but at the end of the day it will be filled with happiness and celebration.

A Better Day

It seemed as if the sombre tone of last week had pretty much disappeared during our workshop this time. It was sweltering, and the sun had made us silly. Though it cut out workshop time, the late arrival of the coach gave us a little time to settle down and be exactly sure of what we were doing- it also allowed for a little bit of mental preparation. Kim arrived in good spirits, back from her trip to Brighton. She was garbed in the most spectacular Elvis t-shirt, and fully equipped with gold and white Elvis keychains on her little bag. We compared guitar-shaped accessories... Kim appeared delighted at the Elvis t-shirt we were making for her doll. We took the opportunity to take a picture with the doll, seeing as Kim's outfit matched it so well. With the same amount of dogged determination to finish a task as usual, the cross stitch was completed expertly by Kim. She had a giggle at how bad I was at unpicking any mistakes made and how long it took me to re-thread the needle. Apparently, she says, it is I who is in need of glasses.

Applique Patch Workshop

I had a really lovely morning at the hospice this week. My partner Eileen wasn’t there, as she had told me to expect last week, and I definitely felt the lack of her presence. Last week I felt that we had made more of a connection, and I was disappointed that we couldn’t carry on getting to know each other this session, but such is the nature of the project – there was a few of us missing our partners. However, instead I was leading a few people in make appliqué patches for the quilt we’re making to commemorate the project. I had three people sitting with me, and the atmosphere created by their activity was really positive. The patches they made were so lovely, even those that doubted their ability absolutely excelled themselves. This quilt is going to be absolutely beautiful. Little was needed from me to get them going, to be honest; just the occasional needle to be threaded, or embroidery thread to be handed out. I feel that perhaps that was what made the morning so pleasing. That’s not to say I enjoyed it because I didn’t have to do much, but more because of the enthusiasm shown by the people I was working with, which gave me the feeling that we have really hit our stride with this project. In realising this, I have very mixed feelings about next week, which is the Celebration Day marking the end of our time at the hospice. Actually, I can’t wait to see the dolls all set up and have everyone see what we’ve been doing the last few weeks, but at the same time I will be truly sorry to see this project finish.

St. Christopher's - 4th Workshop

This workshop was not the same for me as all of the previous workshops. Neither of the patients I was working with had shown up and due to this it felt like a slow workshop as I spent most of the time working on one of my plushies as well as chipping in on the conversation going on next to me every now and then. I'm rather looking forwards to the celebration day next week, but at the same time a little nervous as to whether my work will be liked or not.

Another great day

Zoot Suit

Where do I start? We began the day with a few people come to talk to us who are supporters at St Christopher’s Hospice. At first I thought it wasn’t necessary or that there wouldn’t be much to say, but I was far from wrong. It has been a journey for all of us as a group and I feel I have built relationships with people I didn’t mix with before the project and after an hour or so of talking I began to realise how much of an effect it was having on individuals and as a group. Yet upsetting at times, so far there has been an inspiring and positive atmosphere. We decided that we would set the table out differently to the following workshops to benefit both the patients and our class.

Showing Jimmy my progress with the doll was such a great feeling, as the look on his face showed it wasn’t what he had expected. As he used to wear a ‘Zoot Suit’ so we began the workshop sketching out what the final garments will look like and made a start on the shoes. I taught him how to blanket stitch and was thrilled that he picked it up so quickly. Throughout the workshop Jimmy and I had a good chat with each other and also with Matt and Ron who were sat next to us. As I was the only girl I was an obvious target for teasing! As a pair we accomplished a lot and the counselling at the beginning really helped with everyone’s moods and confidence. It was such a lovely day and the weather was beautiful so I left the hospice feeling refreshed and hopeful for the upcoming weeks. It is going to make me quite upset when we finish the project but will stay with me for life.

A Hard Time

Today was difficult to say the least. We began by discussing the previous week's session before starting the next. Whilst reflecting on the more difficult topics some of the patients had raised, we saw there was a stark contrast between the tone of some of our video interviews and our workshops. At this point all of the grief that some of up had been harboring lately came abruptly to the surface. I think we realised everyone in the hospice was well once, and everyone we see walking down the street could theoretically also end up in a hospice. You see- disease is indiscriminate. Being autistic, I'm actually still getting to grips with empathy. Sometimes I feel like a bad person when someone dies and I do not cry. I don't quite know how to grieve yet even though my great uncle I grew very close too died about a month or so ago. What frightens me is that one day the understanding of grief will creep up on me one day and I'll know it all too well. I also learned that Kim and I have alot of secrets in common. Some very sad things that I cannot share. On a lighter note, Kim was ecstatic about the design of her Elvis T-Shirt. Whilst we embroidered the lettering for the shirt, you could really tell she couldn't wait to see the finished product. That being said, it had been a very sobering day of introspection for us all.

St. Christopher's - 3rd Workshop

We arrived at St.Christopher's nice and early and started off with a talk about how to cope with what some of the people we were with talkingaboutdifferent aspects of death, and how we felt about it all. It was rather emotional and left us all thinking alot about how we dealt with death, and we all seemed very quiet by the end of the talk. Though at the time we all seemed quite saddened by this talk, I think it did benefit us.
We had a small break afterwards which I think we all needed, then we got back to the Pavillion to set up our workshops.
It has to be said that this workshop seemed to be alot more cheery than last week, and everyone seemed to be talking and laughing and getting on well with eachother. I worked with the same Mary from last week and I got her to do some embroidery of a flower, and I got talking to another Mary who was observing what was going on in the workshop.I think that this was the nicest workshop so far.

The Third Workshop

This week was possibly the most emotional that we have all felt. Before getting to work with the patients again, we had a talk with a lady who works with Candle. We all got stuff out and talked about how we are finding the Project so far, which was really helpful. Many people opened up about things that were on their mind, personally I find talking about death and illness really difficult to talk about so I didn't contribute much..

After having this little session, we got to work, we set the tables out differently so it was more of a 'group' workshop rather then one-to-one even though this was the main focus. Having the tables set like this was much better as we were able to talk to one another, other patients and our classmates thus having support from each other.

Sadly George was not feeling that well to attend the session which was really upsetting as I really enjoyed our last workshop together and I had made quite a big start on the doll that I would have loved for him to see and help me with. That being said I worked with Roland and got him doing some embroidery even though he said it was a 'woman's job!' nevertheless he is now very apt at embroidery and helped me create a watch out of felt! I also talked to the other patients on the table, learning stuff about their childhood, hobbies, and just having a nice talk with them.

Hopefully next week George will be all better again because i'm so excited to show him the doll so far!

Working with these fantastic people is very emotional and we have had a couple of ups and downs along the way, which is inevitable when doing a Project such as this. This is a celebration of their lives and an amazing opportunity to meet some brilliant people. I feel so privileged to be working with these people and so lucky to be part of this project.

Workshop no.3

Last week I found it really difficult working one-to-one with the patients, but this week was a much more positive experience. The way we set up the room had a lot to do with this, I think, because we paired up into four groups working together, so we had more support from each other, and I think that the fact that we had started making on our dolls, and had something to show the people at the hospice made a difference because they could see a physical manifestation of the project, albeit an early version. I feel like I’m really getting on well with my partner, Eileen, now; our conversation was easy and relaxed, and we found a lot to talk about. We worked together, each making a shoe for the doll, and although she wasn’t confident in her sewing abilities the shoe she made fit better than mine! I then started to work on the doll’s hair, chatting with her and the rest of the table while I worked.

Emotionally, I have found this project very challenging, much more than I had expected. It’s clear when you go to the hospice that everyone there works tremendously hard to make it a positive place, and that’s what it is. It doesn’t feel like a hospital, it doesn’t feel like a sad place to be. However, the conversations that we have with the patients do cause a kind of introspection which is hard to ignore, and can make a person feel quite low. The flipside of this, though, is that we have an opportunity to meet some truly amazing people, and pay tribute to their lives. After this last workshop, I feel much stronger in what I’m doing, as though I’ve jumped that emotional hurdle and now I can just concentrate working on the doll for Eileen, and enjoy that.

Joe and Helen

This visit to St Christopher’s started off with a very emotional conversation, with everyone discussing their feelings about the patients and the situations that they are in, as well as how wonderfully open all of the patients have been with expressing their feelings and emotions.
Neither of the patients that I have been primarily working with was able to attend this workshop, so I was working with some different people. I got to meet up with Joe again and met a new patient; Helen. Both Helen and Joe made really beautiful patches for the quilt we will be making as a gift for St Christopher’s Hospice.

His clothes

Today was one of the most interesting day of all so far. A lot of people in my class, including myself, had a huge amount of things on their mind that they had to get rid of. We all met with a woman who helped run the Candle service that deals with bereavement in young people for a pre-session briefing.

After everyone got everything they had to off their chest, we started our making sessions with the patients we were working with. Unfortunately, Carlton had a little trouble with sewing and cutting so I did the best I could to involve him in what I was doing as much as possible by talking him through everything I was doing and asking him if he had any creative ideas on how to sew or cut the clothes.

Then Carlton, his wife and myself went outside so I could film his reply to the questions, how do you want to be remembered and tell me an interesting story from your life.

There is no point in lying in this blog because then it would all be for nothing, so I will be blunt. Its getting harder as I get to know Carlton and become more of a friend with him. However, as I get to know him better and better I'm learning a lot about myself.

Until next week...

Ron

Working with Ron on the plush dolls was what I wanted and kind of expected. I wanted to be working with a man that was in the armed forces and had stories to tell. Ron was in the Royal Marines from when he was 18 until he was 20. He told me how lucky he was to do such a lot of things while he was young and one of those things was cruising around the world. He saw a lot of different places and found out for himself how different places can be. He seemed to be quite affected by poor countries and areas.
He wants to go on another cruise with his wife but isn’t completely sure whether it is going to be possible or not because of his health issues. This made me realise how health can change quickly and that I should really put the most effort into what I want to do and make the most of it. The other thing I found out about Ron was that he is quite protective and looks after people, helping them out or just making them feel comfortable and keeping them company. He told me about how his wife looks after an elderly person. These things made me think how capable he still is and how he realises how lucky he is compared to other people and their health issues. Ron is quite happy with his life and seems to be fulfilled by what he has achieved.

Workshop No.2

This time at the hospice we were paired up with patients, to find out more about them and start planning how their doll will look. I think that in general, the workshop went really well. The art pavilion was filled with chatter, and most people were quite happy to talk about themselves; their personalities really started to come through. We also started filming their stories about ‘How I’d Like To Be Remembered’, which will be the basis of the animations we make to project onto the dolls. I found the workshop really challenging, but on the other hand I think that that makes this project all the more important. If certain patients aren’t confident in talking about themselves or their feelings, this could be a great opportunity for them to have something really positive done for them, and for them to take part in it also.

Second Workshop

Before our visit, the class created plushies of ourselves to show the patients what we are planning to make with them over the remainder of this project. We also made a design sheet to show them as well.

I was working with George who is such a character and a really lovely guy! He talked about his wife, the army, his budgies and other interests and hobbies which was extremely funny and moving.

It’s a real pleasure to be working with George as i find his stories are fascinating. When we started to work on his plush doll, it was a real laugh, I got him drawing out how he wants to look, calling himself a “Right fat lad!” We are incorporating aspects of his history, childhood, wife and what he looks like now.

We also filmed George talking about how he wants to be remembered and his wife, he read out a beautiful poem and I can’t wait to start my flash animation in relation to this video.

Both George and I find this project really fun and exciting. Making the plush with him is going to be such a joy. Even after just one session, the stories shared and the memories of his childhood told, I can tell how great this outcome is going to be as it is already such a fantastic experience I am having already.

Plushy Prep

For our third visit to St Christopher’s Hospice we had prepared plush dolls of ourselves as examples of how the plush dolls of them could look. The workshop this week was all about planning out the plush dolls of the patients. We did this by talking to them about what they would want it to be like, inspired by other artist examples of plush dolls and by the patients lives. We then did some concept drawings showing the doll from the perspective of the patients and of the students. This week I was working with two patients from the Hospice; Nancy and Clement. Through my discussions with Nancy I learnt that when she was younger she was a professional singer and that she felt that could work really well for the plush doll of her. Clement talked about him being a carpenter and that his plush doll could show him in a position of making something, showing his really active personality. I found this workshop helpful for developing ideas for the plush doll and also really interesting to learn about these people’s lives.

St. Christopher's Second Workshop

We arrived at St. Christopher's for the third time, and I must admit I was feeling alot more confident about meeting people today. The hospice did not seem so worrying to me. We got the Pavilion and we began to draw up a small plan for plushies we thought would represent ourselves so we could show an example to whoever we would be working with today. We then set up our little workshops and waiting for people to start arriving.

After a while, we began to see familiar faces starting to walk through the door. I began my work with two lovely ladies, Shirley and Mary. Mary was familiar to me, as she worked on the cross stitch table with me. I got speaking to them and I got them to tell me all about themselves to gain information for their plushies I got to know about their families, their past, their personalities, etc. I then got them to draw what they thought they may look like, and then I showed them my interpretation of that drawing. It really was a wonderful morning getting to know people.

Designing the Doll

The main focus of today was to get designing the dolls we were to make of the St. Christopher's Hospice patients. This time, I was paired up solely with Kim. We started off with a discussion about Kim's personal interests and found she was a very creative person, designing cards for the hopsice shop and making ceramics as gifts for friends and family. I discovered Kim was an avid Elvis fan, so we decided to have his image feature on the t-shirt for her doll. I commented on Kim's style, remarking at how up-to-date she was with her liking for leggings and plimsolls. I recalled my work experience at Urban Outfitters and the insatiable hoardes of teenagers that came in droves to snap up a pair of plimsolls. I'm glad she agreed with me when I complimented her on her thick hair and trim frame. Kim knows she can get away with the leggings and skinny jeans where others can't ^^;

I drew as we talked and noticed her multiple lobe piercings, which lead us into a discussion about them and tattoos. Kim pointed out Dylan's stretched piercing and marvelled at it (being several gauges larger than mine) which then lead to us talking about boys, morality and what 'marriage' means to modern society...

...How on earth did we get there? Anyway, by the halfway point, we had pretty much decided on the details of our plush doll, so we had time to continue with our small talk. Talk of horses and the treatment of animals. I also found Kim was one of the few who had friends and family living locally to me, in the Wandsworth area. This was comforting, as most at the Hospice and at school live in places I've never heard of XD

I think today was productive. Kim and I both had a nervous giggle during our filmed interview with Zoe, making light of the situation and turning our anxiety into a joke. Hopefully, we will have both walked away with that little extra bit of confidence.

My stuff gets real

So if you're joining this from the last entry I posted, you would already know that we have met all the people in the group we are working with. This time we were paired up with one person each from the group of St. Christopher's patients. I was chosen to work alongside a man called Carlton.

We sat down behind one of the tables we had placed in the cabin and began to talk. He seemed almost anxious about talking to me about anything at first and I had no idea why. So after a few minutes of me talking to him I decided I would put myself in his shoes to try and get to grips with what he must have been feeling; some 17 year old kid was trying to find out everything he could about his life so he could make a doll of him. I would have been apprehensive at first as well.

However, after about 20 minutes of me trying to ask questions I levelled with him. I told him that I had spent ages writing down questions to ask him and now, after meeting him, all those questions seemed so useless because I had started to think that no amount of questioning could describe Carlton as well as he could. So I asked him, tell me about you.

I soon started to find out that this man was part of the old school generation. The kind that valued respect and common courtesy above a lot else. He had so many thoughts about, well, everything I could think of. I learnt so much in that session, like the differences between religion and god, the earth and I'm pretty sure he would hate me for saying, but his extremely keen hatred of the colour pink.

Here was a person who, when asked what clothes he wanted on the doll of himself replied, “oh nothing much really, plain white vest, plain cardigan, plain trousers and a black pair of leather shoes”. In today's society, within my group of friends, clothes kind of represent who you are and what style you are into. But to him, they were meaningless.

To be completely honest, this doll is going to be hard. Because unless you have met Carlton and actually talked to him at length about his thoughts and what means a lot to him, you would have no idea what kind of person he was. So the clothes and this doll wont really be anything special, because he doesn't want them to be, the animation that is going to be projected onto the doll's face...Well, that's where the magic is going to happen...

Making Friends

During the second visit to St. Christopher’s hospice, we met the patients for the first time which was quite exciting as we didn’t really know what to expect from them and I didn’t really know how I would react around them. As we got into a circle and started to talk you could see that a few of them had quite positive and humorous personalities and then there were some that were a little bit afraid, which seemed to make me put in a little bit more effort to try and feel comfortable and make them feel that way as well. Once they had chosen which workshop to work on I found it hard to keep them all busy at the same time as there were seven of them and one of me. I had to keep on trying to move round the table to help as much as I could. I was also trying to start conversations and get to know them and ask stories of their childhoods, which they didn’t seem to mind talking about. There was one guy that was quite bubbly but had a problem with his breathing and seemed quite uncomfortable which made me want to ask him questions about his illness but I didn’t have the right thing to ask as I don’t really know what I wanted to know but he seemed interesting. I've also realised that you have to approach them all on different levels as they don't take everything the way you do. This makes it harder to try and talk to the whole group at once. I enjoyed the day alot and look forward to going back next week.